Esophageal cancer fear

[Minivil]

Yes, count me in as one of the many with this fear.

I’ve had heartburn forever, and have been on low dose Prilosec, now nexium for regular acid problems. But I haven’t really taken care of my body all of that time. Lots of risk factors, smoking for a few years in my 20s (I’m 40 now) and recent regular, heavier (than I like to admit) alcohol use which has helped cause some of my current issue.

Two years ago I started having burning between shoulder blades, I attributed it to acid and tried various things. It seemed to go away for a bit.

Three weeks ago I was having some issues swallowing completely, like food wouldn’t go down all the way, or I would burp and some would come back up in my throat. It caused some coughing fits and almost vomiting. It got to the point when it was hard to swallow anything down and it sent me to the ER. They did blood work, x rays, etc. Everything was normal, no anemia, etc. They said it likely was esophagitus and go to the gastro to get it looked at. Wonderful.
Thing is, no gastro in our area I called will take me bc we let our insurance lapse (too expensive) and couldn’t afford the tests anyway. I called my GP, who informed me that I wasn’t a patient anymore bc of past due bills. We have struggled to pay them AND pay for our sons type 1 diabetes needs. It’s not intentional, we simply have to let some things slide to pay for insulin.

I’m really scared. I haven’t been here in a long time because my health anxiety is mostly in check, but this one has me...because I can’t get the tests I need. I made the mistake of reading other EC experiences and theirs began with the same symptoms I have...ans aside from being an old male, I have so many risk factors.

I don’t know if I need reassurance or not. The burning in my back between my shoulders is so scary, I’m worried I’ve let this go for far too long because we simply cannot afford care (and make too much to get benefits, isn’t that neat?). Any advice or words of reassurance? I really appreciate it.

[Scass]

Really we are so lucky to have NHS in the UK, I didn’t think twice about the cost of my endoscopy recently. I am SO sorry that you find yourself in this awful situation that you can not access healthcare due to financial difficulties. I find it appalling that doctors treat patients as paying customers.

Could you go back to the hospital and see if there’s anything they could do?

I’m sure the stress isn’t helping you and that will make your symptoms worse. I hope you find something that can help, please keep us updated. I’m sure that it’s nothing worse than gastritis, and that you will recover with the right diet, medication and care x


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Minivil]

Thank you for your kind reply. I’m very pro free market but this healthcare situation has gotten so out of control for everyone here, it’s making me reconsider. What’s so crazy about it is feeling penalized or stuck because you have worked hard and make more money. Trust me, that extra income all goes toward our son’s ongoing care and we don’t qualify for any assistance because of it. But people who don’t work at all and drain the system get the insurance/care we once enjoyed. It’s insane, and the middle class is hurt the most.

/end rant

I hope that because I’ve had these symptoms for a couple of years off and on is actually a good thing...I figure if it were something terribly sinister something would be progressing and would have shown up on routine labs. All I can do is hope the marketplace has better insurance offers and maybe I can see a specialist eventually, eating well and exercising. I’m just scared.